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Posts Tagged ‘Ulex’

Fire benefits plants by disrupting antagonistic interactions

October 2nd, 2016 2 comments

There are many plants that benefit from fire. Typical examples are those that despite they may be killed by fire, the germination of their seeds is stimulated by the fire (either by the heat or by the smoke; [1,2]), and thus they recruit very well (high offspring abundance) and often increase there population size postfire. Species with fire-stimulated flowering [3,4] also benefit from fire. In a recent paper [5] we propose that there may be another mechanisms by which fire may benefit plants: fire may remove seed predators, and thus create a window of opportunity for reproduction under a lower predation pressure (predator release hypothesis). This is specially applicable to specialist plant-insect interactions. We documented two cases: in Ulex parviflorus, a plant species with fire-stimulated germination [1,2], fire eliminated there specialist seed predator weevil (Exapion fasciolatum, Apioninae, Brentidae) and thus increased the available seed number for germination. Similarly, in Asphodelus ramosus, a fire-stimulated flowering species [3], fire reduced the specialist herbivore and seed predator (Horistus orientalis, Miridae, Hemiptera) and increased their fruit production. Thus, fire, by disrupting the antagonistic interactions, benefit plants; the temporal window of this predator release is likely to depend on fire size. For more information see reference [5].

Ulex-Exapion

Figure: Proportion of predated fruits of Ulex parviflorus in unburned sites (grey boxes) and at the edge and center of a recently burned area (white boxes), 2 and 3 years postfire. Data from two large wildfires in Valencia (2012) [5]; Edge and Center of the burned area refer to <1 km and >1.5 km from the fire perimeter, respectively. Photo of the seed predator (Exapion) from BioLib.cz.

References

[1] Moreira B., Tormo J., Estrelles E., Pausas J.G. 2010. Disentangling the role of heat and smoke as germination cues in Mediterranean Basin flora. Annals of Botany 105: 627-635. [pdf | doi | blog]

[2] Moreira B and Pausas JG. 2012. Tanned or Burned: the role of fire in shaping physical seed dormancy. PLoS ONE 7:e51523. [doi | plos | pdf]

[3] Postfire blooming of Asphodelous, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2014/04/05

[4] Postfire flowering: Narcissus, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es/2015/05/02

[5] García Y., Castellanos M.C. & Pausas J.G. 2016. Fires can benefit plants by disrupting antagonistic interactions. Oecologia 182: 1165–1173. [doi | pdf] <- New!!

 

Ulex born to burn (II): genetic basis of plant flammability

January 25th, 2014 No comments

In an previous study we found that Ulex parviflorus (Fabaceae) populations that inhabit in recurrently burn areas (HiFi populations) were more flammable than populations of this species growing in old-fields where the recruitment was independent of fire (NoFi populations) [1,2, 3]. That is, HiFi plants ignited quicker, burn slower, released more heat and had higher bulk density than NoFi plants. Thus, it appeared that repeated fires selected for individuals with higher flammability, and thus driving trait divergence among populations living in different fire regimes. These results were based on the study of plant flammability (phenotypic variability) without knowing whether plant flammability was genetically controlled. In a recent study using the same individuals [4], we show that phenotypic variability in flammability was correlated to genetic variability (estimated using AFLP loci) [figure below]. This result provide the first field evidence supporting that traits enhancing plant flammability have a genetic component and thus can be responding to natural selection driven by fire [5]. These results highlight the importance of flammability as an adaptive trait in fire-prone ecosystems.

Ulex-flam-AFLP

Figure: Relationship between flammability and genotypic variability at individual level in Ulex parviflorus (red symbols: individuals in HiFi populations; green symbols: individuals in NoFi populations). Variations in flammability are described using the first axis of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA1) performed from different flammability traits, and genetic variability is described using the first axis of a Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCo1) from the set of AFPL loci that were significantly related to flammability. See details in [4].

References
[1] Ulex born to burn, jgpausas.blogs.uv.es, 9/Nov/2011

[2] Pausas J.G., Alessio G., Moreira B., Corcobado G. 2012. Fires enhance flammability in Ulex parviflorusNew Phytologist 193:18-23 [doi | wiley | pdf]

[3] Pausas J.G. & Moreira B. 2012. Flammability as a biological concept. New Phytologist 194: 610-613.  [doi | wiley | pdf]

[4] Moreira B., Castellanos M.C., Pausas J.G. 2014. Genetic component of flammability variation in a Mediterranean shrub. Molecular Ecology 23: 1213-1223 [doi | pdf | data:dryad]

[5] Keeley J.E., Pausas J.G., Rundel P.W., Bond W.J., Bradstock R.A. 2011. Fire as an evolutionary pressure shaping plant traits. Trends in Plant Science 16: 406-411. [doi | trends | pdf]

 

Ulex born to burn

November 9th, 2011 No comments

Recurrent fires are a strong evolutionary pressure shaping plants [1,2]. It has been hypothesized that in fire prone-ecosystems, natural selection has favoured the development of traits that enhance flammability [3]. Consistent with this idea, in a recent study [4] we found that Ulex parviflorus (Fabaceae) populations that inhabit in recurrently burn areas (HiFi populations) are more flammable than populations of this species growing in old-fields where the recruitment was independent of fire (NoFi populations). That is, HiFi plants ignite quicker, burn slower, release more heat and have higher bulk density than NoFi plants. Thus, it appears that repeated fires select for individuals with higher flammability, and thus driving trait divergence among populations living in different fire regimes. These results provide some field support for the ‘kill thy neighbour’ hypothesis [3], but they also highlighted the need for heritability studies to unambiguously demonstrate natural selection driven by fire. This study together with other studies recently commented in this blog [5, 6] are placing flammability as a fundamental trait in plant evolution.

Figure: Flammability experiments using an epiradiator [4].

References

[1] Keeley, J. E., J. G. Pausas, P. W. Rundel, W. J. Bond, and R. A. Bradstock. 2011. Fire as an evolutionary pressure shaping plant traits. Trends in Plant Science 16:406-411. [doi | pdf]

[2] Pausas J.G. & Keeley J.E. 2009. A burning story: The role of fire in the history of life. BioScience [doi | jstore | pdf]

[3] Bond, W. J. and J. J. Midgley. 1995. Kill thy neighbour: an individualistic argument for the evolution of flammability. Oikos 73:79-85.

[4] Pausas J.G., Alessio G., Moreira B., Corcobado G. 2012. Fires enhance flammability in Ulex parviflorus. New Phytologist 193:18-23 [doi | pdf]

[4′] Pausas J.G. & Moreira B. 2012. Flammability as a biological concept. New Phytologist 194: 610-613. [doipdf]

[5] Pausas JG. 2011. Australia born-to-burn: a phylogenetic approach. jgpausas.blogs.uv.es, 18/March/2011 [link]

[6] Pausas JG. 2011. Fire and evolution: Cretaceous fires and the spread of angiosperms. jgpausas.blogs.uv.es, 9/Sept/2011 [link]